Inside this Human Skin
by Lilgrimmapple
Summary: When her little brother, Orion goes missing along with the King of the Spirit World, no-nonsense Celeste willingly goes to the human realm as a mortal in order to find him. Luckily she finds Neil, and he knows where her brother is. Unfortunately, getting them all back home is proving to be difficult when everything is trying to kill you.
1. Chapter 1: One Step at a Time

Title: Inside this Human Skin

Summary: When her little brother, Orion goes missing along with the King of the Spirit World, no-nonsense Celeste willingly goes to the human realm as a mortal in order to find him. Luckily she finds Neil, and he knows where her brother is. Unfortunately, getting them all back home is proving to be difficult when everything is trying to kill you.

_**((Author's note: Ok, this is an idea that I'm simply experimenting with. I had a strong urge to write a fanfic thanks to the positive reviews on my first oneshot, and this was the only thing that was begging to be typed up. Honestly, I had fun writing this first chapter. I never played the visual novel game of Amnesia, but I read some reviews about it, and I watched the anime. So, please review, fave, and follow at your own free will. And most of all, enjoy!))**_

Chapter 1: One Step at a Time

Celeste frowned in discomfort. Her body felt so heavy! She was used to being in her spirit form, feeling weightless, boundless and free. This fleshy container just weighed her down. Celeste tried to open her eyes and hissed when the bright daylight penetrated through them, immediately closing them again. Was light supposed to hurt? Her body shivered as her once cold body grew warmer in the sunlight with every beat of her heart. It felt so weird. She didn't know if she could get used to having a pulse, or a body for that matter. Taking a deep breath, Celeste knew she had to get adjusted to her new form and life. She peeled her eyes open once again, and this time waited until they got used to the brightness. When that problem was out of the way, Celeste tested her new body.

She first moved a finger and then wiggled her head and finally her legs. Good, she was completely linked to all her limbs. Feeling confident that she was in control of her container, Celeste sat up on the bench where she was currently lying on. Looking around, she made the conclusion that she was in a public park in Tokyo, Japan. Exactly the city that she needed to be in.

Seeing families strolling around the park, Celeste realized grudgingly that she'll have to learn how to walk. Getting up onto her own two feet, using the bench as a support, her legs wobbled from her body weight. Managing to finally stand upright without support, Celeste risked taking her first step. And like she expected…

…she fell face flat.

By God, that stung! The concrete scratched the fragile skin on her palms and her knee. Celeste was quick to learn that she did not like physical pain. How in the blazes do humans live like this?! Grunting in frustration and effort to sit up, Celeste blew her hair out of her face, her mouth set in a grim line. She was determined to master walking even if it killed her! "Oh, when I find that little brat, I'll ground him for a millennium!" …Ok maybe only for a few centuries…she wasn't that cruel of a sister.

The fear of not knowing where her brother ran away to just made Celeste shudder. It all was that stupid King's fault.

Celeste was a spirit from the Spirit World and her younger brother, Orion was the heir apparent to be the next king after Neil, who was the current king. He was in no shape or form related to Neil, but he was chosen from birth to succeed after him. The King gained his power from the human world by granting wishes, so Neil constantly spent most of his time loitering around with the humans on Earth. A week ago, he had invited Orion to come along and see how he does his job. When Orion pleaded for Celeste's permission, she immediately refused. There were no 'buts' about it. Orion was more than unpleased with her answer as Celeste soon found out. Orion, being a spirit with the age equivalence to a 13-year-old boy did not understand his sister's reason as to why. She tried to explain, but he just brushed it off as her usual childhood grudge against Neil.

In a way, it was…but there was a good reason for it. Neil, despite being the King, was quite overconfident, careless, and found granting human wishes more amusing than he really should have. "Wishes aren't meant to be taken for granted." She scolded Neil for the thousandth time.

He would just laugh at her unintentional pun and reply, "Celia, my dear. Wishes are meant to be granted."

It was his ignorance that scared her. Most wishes were best left alone, since as everything came at a price. She couldn't understand why the King refused to acknowledge this. If he was so careless at his job, how could he possibly supervise her brother down there on Earth?

After finding out that her brother had ran away with Neil, Celeste tried to stay calm. As an average spirit, she couldn't go down to Earth without superior help. So she waited for their return. After a week in the Spirit World (time flowed differently on Earth and in the Spirit World, and a week usually was a month in Earth terms), Celeste had lost all patience and her worry was at wits end. The King never stayed on Earth for this long, and there is no way he would allow Orion to stay this long either.

Gaining sympathy from a superior after begging and pleading (actually, it was more of peer pressuring), Celeste was given permission to go down to Earth. She had two choices; one was to take a human host, or to have a human body of her own. Both had a downside. With a human host, she would not have control over the body or mind. The human would be aware of her presence, and so convincing a host to take on a favor to find two other spirits would be near to impossible. In fact, they might sooner call the priest to try to exorcise her before she got to ask.

Having her own human body would allow her to have all the advantages of moving around and making her own choices. The downside was the scary part. Her body will not be a natural existence on Earth. Therefore, the human world would reject her existence and do its best to get rid of her in attempt to keep its usual order. Well, as long as she didn't try to change anything or stand out, fate could turn a blind eye. That was never promised however.

Deciding that having a human body would be more convenient for searching for her brother, Celeste chose to risk it. Besides, a body was only temporary anyway, right?

The sun was right at the horizon, reddening the sky. Celeste had lost count of how many times she circled the bench, practicing walking, holding onto it. She ignored the odd stares that she received from an occasional passerby. Her long legs trembled and stumbled like a newborn fawn, but eventually, she managed to walk straight without any support.

Proud of her accomplishment, Celeste could now allow herself to walk away from the bench and start her search. She had no sense of where they could be or who they took as their host. Being only a child, Orion would share the same host as Neil. What she was sure of was that they were in this specific city.

Passing by a tiny hat shop, Celeste saw her reflection for the first time in the window. She looked just like her spirit form. She had the same silver waist length hair that gradually transitioned to black from mid length to the tips that curled naturally. Her eyes were lemonade yellow and there was a small white star shape between her brows, a constant reminder that she was of the Spirit World. What she lacked were her dainty small black horns on each side of her head and long pointy ears. There was a cute black cap on her head. She wore a warm beige colored light jacket that could pass for a cute dress that reached mid thigh. Her legs were covered in pink and black, harlequin patterned leggings. On her feet she had black boots with a silver buckle on each side. Thank God for them being flat heels, otherwise she would have broken an ankle.

Celeste felt strange looking at herself as a human. She felt her soft small ears beneath her fingers and watched as her reflection smiled nervously back at her. A movement behind the glass broke her attention. It was the store owner who was behind the counter, and he stared at her with an eyebrow raised. Self-conscious that she was caught admiring her reflection; Celeste blushed and quickly turned away from the store, nearly tripping over her feet.

The growling in her stomach took her off guard. Celeste never felt hunger before and she had no currency, so she was at a loss on what to do. In a nearby grocery store, she saw through the window a stand that had a sign that said _Free Samples_.

Entering the store she picked up a dango sample. It had a delectable aroma and she gently bit into its soft skin, not sure what to expect. A burst of flavor exploded in her mouth and her eyes lit up in fascination. So this is how food tastes like! She tried another sample, and it tasted completely different. For the first time, Celeste was enjoying her human body. That was until the owner of the store got fed up with all the samples being gobbled up and kicked her out.

"This isn't a charity food drive!"

Disappointed and still hungry, Celeste had no choice but to continue on. "Huh. I don't get what the problem is. The samples are free after all."

By the time she reached the bridge that stretched across a river, it was night time. There was no way of finding Neil or Orion today. Sighing deeply, Celeste made her way across the bridge and stopped when she noticed that she was no longer alone. In front of her, there was a young man with long green hair and a black hat with a diamond pattern across its middle. His eyes were downcast as he leaned against the railing. His figure seemed so sad and lonely that Celeste couldn't help but take one step towards him. The feeling of a strong wish resonated from him, naturally drawing her in. A nervous tingle spread up her spine. There was something way off about that guy.

He was oblivious to her presence, and her suspicions were answered by him climbing up onto the railing.

Without stopping to think, Celeste threw herself forwards, running with all her might. Her arms stretched out towards him and gripped him tightly around the waist. The stranger made a noise of surprise as he lost his balance and fell back onto the safety of the bridge with Celeste in tow.

Breathing hard from the adrenaline rush that was just now starting to fade away, Celeste hoisted herself up from his chest, grasped his poorly done tie in her hand and pulled on it hard, forcing him to look at her. "YOU IDIOT!" She screamed in his face. "I don't care what pitiful excuse you have. IT ISN'T WORTH YOUR LIFE! NOTHING IS WORTH KILLING YOURSELF FOR!" She had him pinned to the concrete, straddling him.

She almost missed the silhouette reflecting in his tear brimmed, green eyes. Blinking, she furrowed her eyebrows as she began to recognize the figure, and it wasn't her reflection. The image looked shocked at first, but then its expression turned into a sheepish grin. She swore it would have broken out in a nervous sweat if it was physically capable of doing so.

Celeste sneered, but this time it wasn't at the man in her hands. "Well, fancy meeting you here, your Majesty." She whispered.

_**((Author's Note: Free imagination cookies for all those who know who the stranger is. 8D))**_


	2. Chapter 2: Confessions

Title: Inside this Human Skin

Summary: When her little brother, Orion goes missing along with the King of the Spirit World, no-nonsense Celeste willingly goes to the human realm as a mortal in order to find him. Luckily she finds Neil, and he knows where her brother is. Unfortunately, getting them all back home is proving to be difficult when everything is trying to kill you.

_**((Author's note: Hey guys! Don't worry, I don't feel like dropping this story. I just had lots of life stuff to do, such as college classes, finals, and other wonderful boring things. I want to thank Cutepuppy01 and Yoruko Rhapsodos for commenting and urging me to continue. It is my original plan to pair Celeste up with someone, but who knows who it will be and if it will even happen. My characters usually decide for themselves. Well, anywho…thanks for the support and I hope I will not disappoint you with the upcoming chapters.))**_

Chapter 2: Confessions

"Do you know how much trouble you put me through?!" She yelled in the poor stranger's face. "Being gone a day? Fine. A week? Sure. A month? Feel free! I don't care if you don't come back at all! But when you drag my baby brother into this, I will not have any remorse in pummeling your fleshy face in!" She raised her fist and watched the figure of Neil flailing about in panic.

"Wha- wait!" The stranger exclaimed, putting up his hands in a feeble defense. "I have no idea what you are going on about, but can we at least solve this without violence?!"

"Shut up, I'm not talking to _you_."

"You are about to break my nose! Who else could you be talking to?!" His voice rose an octave from panic, his face pale.

Celeste tilted her head slightly, frowning in disgust. "Why should you care if I hit you or not? You were about to throw your life away, anyway."

The green-haired stranger averted his eyes, looking slightly ashamed. "I have a low tolerance of pain..."

"…"

"…"

What a wimp.

Celeste sighed and thought for a moment, loosening her grip on his tie. She seriously had no idea what to make of this guy. For someone who was afraid of pain, he was more than willing to let the fall kill him.

"So, umm…" The man looked back up at Celeste timidly, his cheeks getting a bit pink. "Can you maybe…um…sorry…but…"

"Spit it out."

"Can you let me up, please?"

Celeste blinked and realized that she was still straddling the poor guy in a rather questionable position. Her ears reddened for a second before she wordlessly got off him. "Sorry." She muttered.

The man got up to his feet and she noticed that this guy was really tall in stature. He was literally towering over her. And yet, for some odd reason, despite his physique, he looked pathetically weak. He was thin and lanky, and the heels did not help. He looked as if he would topple over if she gave him a small nudge. His eyes held nervousness and embarrassment, and Celeste couldn't help but pity the idiot.

Suddenly, a ghostly image of Neil floated into partial view from behind the man. _"Haaahh…"_ He gave a loud sigh,_ "I was seriously thinking she was going to do me in there for a second. Thanks man. You saved me."_ He patted his host on the shoulder but the guy barely acknowledged him despite tensing up a bit.

An ugly sneer formed on Celeste's face, "Oh, don't think you are out of the gutter yet!" She snarled at Neil.

The stranger flinched and took a cautious step backwards. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to offend you, miss."

"Huh?" Celeste raised an eyebrow, not realizing that the poor guy thought she was still referring to him.

"I know!" The man suddenly lightly hit his fist into his palm and she could swear she saw a light bulb turning on. A smile brightened up his face as the sudden idea came to him. "How about I make it up to you?"

"What are you-"

"Just name a favor you would like me to do for you, anything at all!" He clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture, "So, please? No hard feelings?"

"…" Celeste stared at the stranger, taking her time thinking on what to answer him. He really looked like he wanted to do something nice for her in order to fix the already messed up impression she had of him. She wasn't sure if she wanted to take the offer from a suicidal man. But then a hollow feeling in her stomach reminded Celeste what she wanted. And besides, he did owe her for saving his life. "I'm hungry."

"Huh?" He blinked blankly, not expecting that to come out of her mouth. A low growling noise and an awkward silence soon followed after.

"Food." Celeste stressed out bluntly, ignoring his amused smile. "I'm hungry. Feed me."

* * *

Celeste was just finishing her 4th bowl of ramen. The man, who introduced himself as Ukyo, was sitting next to her while looking into his nearly empty wallet with a dejected look on his face. He did not think that a small person like her would eat so much.

He looked back at Celeste as she put down the empty bowl and felt the blood drain from his face when she raised her hand and said "I'd like another serving please!"

The chef laughed heartily, greatly amused by this hungry young woman. "This is the first time I have met a young lady with such an appetite as yours." He chuckled as he poured more ramen into another bowl and handed it to her.

"Is she even human?" Ukyo sweat-dropped as he watched her devour the next bowl of ramen.

"_Pfft, you'd be surprised."_ Neil leaned against Ukyo's back, trying to hold back his laughter. "_Are you sure you want to eat that much, Celia?"_ Neil taunted his childhood friend like he always did, his eyes twinkling in merriment_, "It'd be such a shame for that lovely figure to go to waste."_

Celeste swung her chopsticks and pointed them at Neil, inches away from Ukyo's and Neil's face, causing them both to freeze up in horror. "You have lost all privileges to talk to me, Neil." She growled. "Don't test me."

Ukyo's eyes widened at the mention of Neil's name.

"Besides, this body is temporary anyway. I'm not planning to stay here." Celeste turned back to her food. "I just need to find Orion and drag both your asses back home."

"W-wait. Hold on a moment." Ukyo placed his hands on the table, pulling himself up in a slight standing position. "You…know Neil? You can see him?" He was clearly astonished.

Celeste raised a brow at him, "Who do you think I was threatening the entire time?"

Ukyo slowly sat back down and smiled nervously, "Honestly? I thought all your anger was directed at me. I mean, no one else can see or hear him. What was I supposed to think?"

Celeste gave a small apologetic smile. "I guess so. Sorry about that."

"Oh! No, no…" Ukyo laughed trying to brush away her apology. "Don't be. It's my fault in the first place."

The young spirit sipped the broth while studying Neil's host. He was an all around nice guy. His eyes were honest and pure. He had a sweet face and was well mannered, despite being timid. He seemed to be the type that grandmothers would dote over, pinching his cheeks and all. He also appeared to be a pushover.

"So…" Celeste began, putting down her bowl while trying to find a delicate way to start this conversation. "What's with the whole, um..bridge thing? Isn't Neil supposed to grant your deepest wish so you can be happy?" She noticed the spirit king sucking in a breath and turning away with a pained grimace.

Ukyo lowered his gaze to his hands which were slightly shaking. He clasped them together in order to stop it. His smile faded the moment she asked the question. Celeste felt her heart sink slowly.

"Neil?" She hesitantly inquired.

Her childhood friend twitched but did not look back at her. Ok. Something was terribly wrong, and Celeste had a gut feeling that it was worse than what she was expecting it to be. Normally Neil would just laugh it off and stick out his tongue while going _"Oops, I screwed up. No worries! I'll fix it."_ Here, he was avoiding her the best he could.

Dread filled her heart as she immediately thought of her baby brother. She gave a hard swallow and her yellow eyes narrowed, "Neil. What the hell did you do?" Her voice was low and dangerous. "Where is Orion?"

"_Celia…I…"_ Neil gulped and closed his eyes. A moment later he faced Celeste with such seriousness that it frightened her. _"I'm sorry."_ His eyes were filled with guilt. "_Orion isn't here_."

The girl counted ten seconds before she spoke again. "What do you mean, _he isn't here?"_

Ukyo raised his eyes at the two, not sure who they were talking about, but didn't dare to intrude on the conversation.

"Didn't he come to this world along with you?"

"_Yes."_ Neil admitted none too happily.

Celeste gripped the chopsticks in her hand tightly, anger and fear bubbling up. She waited for Neil to continue.

Unable to handle the pressure anymore, Neil choked out. _"I fucked up, Celia. I fucked up real bad. I broke the rules." _He floated down to the ground before her on his knees, his head bowed down low.

"Huh?"

"_I tried to grant Ukyo's wish when I wasn't supposed to! She was supposed to die that day and yet I…I couldn't-" _

"Neil, I don't get what you are talking about." Celeste's voice cracked, her heart was racing and she found herself standing up, ignoring the chef who stared at her confused.

Neil's blue/gray eyes met Celeste's yellow ones and he quivered before her_._ The king of all the spirits, was bowing before her out of all people. "I_ tried to bring someone back to life, Celia."_ He confessed weakly.

_Snap!_

The chopsticks in Celeste's hand broke. Her face was white as a sheet. "What?" She couldn't make her voice rise higher than a whisper.

The spirit king closed his eyes and bowed his head again, more than ready to take on her screaming and cursing. _"I didn't have the power to do so however, so I took Ukyo to an alternate universe where his girlfriend is still alive. The fates found out and they were furious that we would even attempt to go against their natural order. So they keep killing her off!"_

"…All of this would be over if I am able to keep her alive past the point of her original death." Ukyo gently took over. "But so far, I keep failing. Either she dies or I get killed off." He smiled sadly at Celeste, "I'm not supposed to be alive in the worlds that she exists." Tears began to well up in his green eyes, "And I just failed again today."

Celeste's head began to hurt. What the hell was going on? She shook her head, trying to make sense of things. 'Ok Celeste, take it easy.' She thought to herself, trying to calm down and think rationally. 'One step at a time. Who are you here for?' The white-haired girl glared down at the spirit king with her anger barely under control. "Where…is Orion?" She asked one last time.

Neil took one shaky deep breath. _"The girl is Orion's host."_

**((Author's note: WAAAH! I did not expect the second chapter to be so drama filled. xD Fingers, what are you doing? Stop being so intense! Heehee. Well anyway, I hope you are enjoying this story so far. I'm trying to make the chapters a little longer. Ugh, I'm tired now. I'll go take a nap. - ))**


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